My Own Worst Enemy
by Kitsuhime
Summary: What would happen if Rose decided to awaken for Dimitri back in Blood Promise? Together, forever, as the undead. First Fanfic! Rated M for limes, lemons, and language.
1. Decision

Thank you to Richelle Mead for making this great series! All of these characters belong to her! Except Dimka. Well, no, not really. I wish. He belongs to her, too. Also thanks to the friend who gave me the idea to write this by giving me his dark view on how the story should've ended. Anyways, enjoy my story! It's my first shot at a fanfic. Read and Review, please?

"What did she say?" I asked.

"She doesn't like that you're still here. She wants me to awaken you or kill you."

"Oh. Um, what are you going to do?"

He stayed silent for a few seconds. "I'll wait a little longer and then...I will make the choice for you."

I stopped suddenly. I don't know why, but his words had an impact on me. I finally realized…

I was going to become a Strigoi.

There was no escape, there was only Dimitri. Our love, our eternal life together…there was no other choice. I had no other choice.

My world had stopped with me. "What's wrong? Are you tired?" He moved to pick me up.

"No, no…It's…" I sighed and looked straight into the beautiful, dark, yet red-ringed eyes.

"You don't have to make the choice for me, Dimitri. I…will awaken."

A few seconds passed. He was slightly incredulous at first, but it quickly was replaced by the cruel smile that was trying to convey joy. "I knew you'd finally see things the right way, Roza."

He picked me up swiftly and looked into my eyes. "Thank you." He was grinning ear to ear, and even though it was dark I couldn't help but smile with him.

The next thing I knew, I was thrown onto the bed with harsh force. He was losing control in his more emotional state. He was on top of me, but not very close. The eyes I loved so much were locked on the nightstand, searching. In one fluid movement, he held up the ring Mark had given me. I noticed there were no rings among all of the glorious jewelry he had given me. Although it was plain silver, Dimitri smiled with a radiance that I had never seen before. His eyes and body returned to me, and his hand rose mine to his lips.

"Roza…," he began, brushing his lips across my hand. "I love you more than anything or anyone else in the world. Will you marry me?"

Love. That world finalized everything. All of the resistance left shattered into a million pieces.

"Yes, Dimitri. I love you too." I could barely get those words out.

"And never shall we part." He laughed, and unlike all the others this laugh wrapped me in its warm, sweet embrace as it used to. The ring slid onto my finger slowly, to savor the moment.

We kissed with passion, with love, without the hard fury all the other kisses had been full of. I wrapped my fingers in his soft hair as his hands played through my body. He pushed my skirt up to the hip and higher, higher. I pulled him closed to me with the hand tangled in his hair and began to unbutton his shirt with the other. Eventually I grew so hungry that I took my hand out of his hair and used both to unbutton the shirt and caress his bare chest. He was a glacier, a god made of ice. Still kissing, he undid the straps of my dress and pulled it off with one swift movement. His shirt was off in an instant, and as he stroked my body I began to undo the rest of his clothing. He was bulging, and I was more than happy to free the manhood that's size proved his Russian heritage.

We made sweet love, as good as it was in the cabin that frosty night long ago. He managed to control his strength so that I wasn't hurt in the least. Pleasure swelled until it burst, orgasm enveloping both of our bodies as we yelled each others' names. But it was nothing compared what happened next. He retreated and moved his mouth to my neck, hovering over it. I shivered at his breath.

"Do it," I whispered.

His fangs sank deep into my skin, and pleasure enveloped me. Ten - no - a hundred times better than the orgasm. I was euphoric. I felt the life draining from my body and into my lover, and I didn't care. He could have my soul. Without him, it wouldn't be worth anything anyways.

My eyes were closed, I was in a darkness that was colorful and bright like a rainbow. I don't know how I managed to remain conscious this long. I felt his fangs retract from my neck, though I don't know how. I felt beyond weak, his touch was like a small breeze upon my skin. I heard a soft squelching noise, felt his lips upon mine.

"Drink, Roza."

I did. I opened my mouth and felt his blood trickling into me. It tasted sweeter than honey, and I sucked for I don't know how long. Finally, I heard his voice, velvet to my ears that had become much more sensitive somehow.

"Stop."

And as the honey stopped dripping into my mouth, as he licked my wound clean, I descended into darkness.


	2. Awakening

I woke up surrounded by darkness. Or at least, what should have been darkness. I was underground with no light in sight, only dark brown earth with the occasional root or insect to spice things up. I was packed in pretty tightly, and that was when I noticed.

I was as pale as a ghost.

It was then that all of the happenings of God-knows-how-long-ago came back to me as suddenly as a frying pan to the face. Or as it would be now, a silver stake to the heart. I could think clearly for the first time in months.

I was free of the drugged haze.

But something felt off. I couldn't quite figure out what it was. All I knew was, I felt happy. So very, very happy, and not just because I had Dimitri. And then I figured it out.

I was free of Lissa.

Her dark influence had disappeared in a flash, probably leaving with my blood. Would Dimitri feel the darkness? No, probably not. But more importantly, I had lost Lissa! I had failed as her guardian! I was dead to the world.

I was a Strigoi.

But oddly enough, I didn't feel like one. I didn't feel cruel or mean or anything. Hell, I felt emotions for Lissa. Then again, Dimitri did feel something for me…the ring on my finger was proof of that. But maybe the fact that I was down here proved something else. I realized though, Dimitri loving me or not, I had to get the hell out of here.

With my new strength, I began to claw towards the surface. It was like swimming. Had I still been dhampir (and breathing somehow), I could never have gotten out of here. But I did. Within a few minutes, I broke the top of the soil and blinked into the new light. It was way brighter out here, but it didn't take long for me to hell, light! I was in the light! Wasn't I supposed to die now?

"Good to see you've finally awakened, Roza." The voice that I loved so much snapped me to attention. I leaped into his arms with a speed that was inhuman. Well duh, I wasn't remotely human anymore.

He laughed and began to stroke my hair. We were just outside the garden, and the flowers bombarded my senses, although pleasantly. The best scent however was giving me a fanged grin.

"So…this is how bright the night appears to you?" I looked around with my newly nocturnal eyes, and it looked like it was the middle of a summer day.

"Yes. And isn't it nicer than the stars?" He looked out in the distance but for a second, preferring to rest his gaze on me.

"Only because you're out here." I snuggled in closer, and he was no longer cold to me.

"Roza…" He continued to stroke my hair. "You have no idea how beautiful you are. Even with the dress torn as it is…"

I looked at myself. A long red silk dress adorned with golden embroidery covered my snowy skin. It was beautiful, even with long rips at the legs and a few tears along the straps. Oops. I had been thinking more about getting out of my grave, not the dress.

"Well if you hadn't buried me like I was dead, I wouldn't have had to claw myself out and torn the dress. What was up with that, anyways?" I pushed him away about an inch as I tried to be angry. Even Strigoi, it was hard.

He glared. "It was necessary for the ritual…Mrs. Belikov." An eyebrow rose and he smirked at the end.

Although I liked the sound of that, I had to know more. "Really? Sounds stupid and unnecessary to me. How come I never learned that at St. Vlad's?"

He sighed, clearly annoyed the reminder of our marriage did nothing to derail me. "When one is awakened, they must find their way out of the earth. It is to represent that we are stronger than the earth and anything else in it, and to make sure our ranks are good enough. If you cannot find your way out of a flimsy hole, then clearly you do not deserve the true way of life. And you didn't know about it because we don't want our enemies to know about it. Fledglings only rise when the sire wills it, and most sires only will it when the area is clear."

I thought about this some. "Makes sense. But what about those who turn by killing while feeding?"

He smiled. "They've already proven their worth. Anyone can be bitten, few are strong enough to kill with a bite. Anyways, we've talked enough. Let's get inside. Galina and the others are waiting for you." Dimitri stood up, gracefully as ever, and he offered his right hand to me.

I took it with my left and rose as gracefully as he did, and we walked through the garden with our hands entwined. I picked up muffled voices and animal noises with my enhanced hearing, but it was still uncomfortably quiet between us.

Apparently Dimitri had noticed too. "So, Mrs. Belikov. Are you regretting not awakening sooner?" He was still smirking.

"Nah, it was fun while it lasted." I moved my neck to show what I meant. "But maybe later I might regret it." My hand moved itself out of the hold and squeezed the area close by.

The red-ringed eyes looked over me, slightly hungry. "Oh, you'll regret it…" His voice was warmer than it had been, but still those eyes creeped me out. Hopefully it was an acquired liking. What did I look like with those rings? I guess I'll never know, seeing as how I didn't have a reflection anymore.

We continued to walk in silence, hands back to being intertwined, until we made it to the door. He eyed me over more seriously now. "Are you ready?"

"Of course I am." Of course I'm ready to talk to a room full of undead monsters who probably hated my guts. The same ones who, in a past life, were my worst enemies. Who probably still _are_ my worst enemies.

Oh hey, isn't that something nice to think about. The fact that now…

I am my own worst enemy.

((Hey guys! If it was implicitly stated in one of the other books that this is not how Strigoi rise and there's some other deal, please tell me. It's been a while since I've read the others, I only brushed over Blood Promise for this book. These chapters are going to be short and frequent, so stay tuned! Thanks for all the readers and faves…although I'd love more! And keep the reviews coming!))


	3. Murder

He opened the door for me and I walked through, mustering all the strength I could to look stoic and cruel. That was how Strigoi were supposed to look. I was to show no fear, even though she was much older than I. The door slammed shut behind me and Dimitri took my hand.

It was like a twisted wedding ceremony. I was walking down an expensive red carpet as the residents here looked on. Damn, there were a lot of Strigoi here. Good thing I didn't try escaping. But that made me realize that there was something odd about what was going on. Certainly, not every new Strigoi got a ceremony. They hated each others' guts.

We ascended a small staircase to where the ice princess stood. She eyed me over with hatred flaming from the red rings. I don't know what her problem was. She looked like she was ready to kill me.

Dimitri backed down the stairs and stood in the center of the walkway. What the hell was going on? I noticed Galina and I were opposite each other. My guardian instincts kicked in. I began to examine the room quickly. This was a fighting ring, a very plush one. There was nothing to throw at her except the fencing around the ring. I got the feeling we weren't supposed to use it, though.

Dimitri shouted something in Russian to Galina, then looked in my direction. I had the feeling that meant "Ready?" because she replied with "Da" or yes. We were going to fight. I readied my body and glared at Dimitri for not warning me about this earlier. Things were going really fast for my first day as an undead monster. I should really stop calling myself that.

I heard Dimitri yell something else, probably "GO!", and this was proven correct by the sound of a gong. So I was fighting a Strigoi. Fun.

She made a very fast lunge in my direction, but left her left side wide open. I took the opportunity and kicked her into the wall. Wow, couldn't do that before. She brushed off making a dent in the wall with ease, and came at me with her right side open. I went to do the same again, but she feinted and punched me square in the jaw. I stumbled, but not much, and managed to get a nice hit to her face in while she left her body open to flaunt her meager victory.

She growled and grabbed my fist. I struggled to get out, but she wouldn't let go. Galina swung me around to throw my body against the wall as I did her, but as I relaxed my fist the ring came off in her hand and I fell to the ground. She looked at the ring and toyed around with it as the cruel expression melted from her face, and she looked at me confusedly. No, with arrogance.

How dare she take my ring and stare at me with such a haughty expression! I rose with lightning speed and landed a harsh blow into her gut. She stumbled but held on to the ring. I began to maul her like a bear would do to a human, and she…she began to cry. No, laugh. She was laughing at me and how weak I was! I would not stand for this.

The next hit I landed sent her out of the ring and through a stained glass window. I raced after her, snarling. Dimitri moved to hold me back, but decided against it. I tore the door off its hinges and found her in the back of the garden. She had fallen on some purple flowers, now stained red with her blood. They wouldn't have a bit of purple on them when I was done. The ring was on her hand now. As if _she _were the one who would be married to Dimitri. This bitch continued to cross the line with me, and now this? This threw me over the edge.

I ripped that finger right off her hand.

The ring was back on my finger now, and I sighed. The animal that was inside me before was tamed. What had happened back there anyways? Once the ring was off my finger, I had turned into a rabid beast…

The ring, that was it! Infused with the power of spirit, it was made to drain some of the darkness I took away from Lissa. And now that I was Strigoi, it was keeping me from becoming one of those…monsters. That was why Dimitri had made love to me instead of hard, furious sex. That was why Galina hesitated and cried.

I was thrown out of this thought train with my fiancé's hand on my shoulder.

"Roza!" I whirled around to face him, and he was smiling a fanged grin. Spirit was why I still considered the fangs as something that didn't suit him. "You did wonderful. I'm so proud of you."

He moved to hug me and I pushed him back. "What, another surprise? Why didn't you warn me? She could have killed me!"

He gave a loud but cold laugh. "But she didn't, did she? You turned Galina, my former teacher, into crying, helpless prey."

"You still didn't answer my question. Why didn't you warn me?"

My lover sighed. "It was a part of the deal. Galina ordered me to put you up against her the second you were awakened. She needed to test you to make sure you were worthy of her having put up with you for so long. And as a condition, you had to be unaware of it."

A mob of Strigoi moved towards us before I could say anything else. Nathan was at the head, growling at me. "How dare you turn Galina into…_that_!" He spat in her direction. She was barely alive and sniffling, but would recover. And probably want to murder me. "You're just a fledgling. A fucking fledgling!"He lunged at me and Dimitri intervened. "Nathan, I have been waiting for this for a very long time." His voice was filled with cold malice, but if his back hadn't been towards me, I know I would have seen a fanged grin.

"As the new Strigoi in charge of this building, I command all of you to kill Nathan. And make it…_painful_."

Nathan was still growling. "You can't do that. Your blood whore is the one who defeated Galina, not _you._ You can't say anything."

Dimitri looked back towards me with an eyebrow cocked. "Well then, Mrs. Belikov. What is your command?"

Nathan, the Strigoi who had taken my love away from me. Who had embarrassed him. Who continually embarrassed him. I had the chance to watch him be ripped to shreds.

But I didn't want to do it. He was a life, although an undead one. However, if I didn't, the Strigoi would see me as an unfit leader. Prey. Not predator. I'd have a horde of Strigoi aching for my undead heart to stop beating, and Dimitri might be among them. That couldn't happen. Would I regret this? Probably. But nothing else could be done.

"As my comrade said, kill him."


	4. Feeding

Ew.

Okay, I'm going to say it again: I really didn't like Nathan. Not after what he did to Dimitri. But…bleh. I don't think even _he _deserved a death like this.

The Strigoi, my new followers, had torn him to shreds. Literally. I don't think there was a piece of him left larger than a square inch. Blood pooled on the stone walkway that wound around the garden. It would probably be stained forever. Wait, no, there were a few humans coming to clean him up.

Thankfully for me, Dimitri hadn't joined in the fun. He had just laughed sadistically on the sidelines. I had never seen him so cruel. The Dimitri I had known would have felt the same way I did - creeped out. Yes, I was a guardian, trained to not be squeamish around blood…but this wasn't blood. This was gore and carnage. This was just outright cruel.

And if not for the ring on my finger, I'd be laughing alongside him…

I was afraid what would happen to me when the magic wore off.

Dimitri noticed the absence of laughter from me and gave me an odd look. "What's wrong, Roza?"

Shit. Improvise, improvise… "It's hard to laugh when…when I'm in control of a large group of people who are stronger than me."

"What?" He drew back and gave me an angry look. "You're stronger than they are. And you just proved it. Besides…" Just as I thought my cover was blown, he took my hand and kissed the ring. "I'm here to protect you."

Yeah, the ring was clearly keeping my humanity. Whenever Dimitri touched it in any way, his voice became warmer and filled with life. And when he stopped touching it, he became colder.

Something moved behind me. I whirled around to find out what it was and was knocked to the ground by a powerful force.

"I will rip you to shreds, blood whore!" Galina was back and better than ever. That was pretty damn obvious, because I couldn't push her off.

"You will do no such thing," Dimitri said coldly, and sent Galina flying as if she weighed nothing. He then shouted something at her in Russian, and whatever it was, it got her _really_ pissed off.

Dimitri merely nodded to me, and I already knew what to do. We were going to finish what I had started.

As she raced to knock over Dimitri, I intercepted and sent her smashing into the stone walkway where Nathan had been killed. The humans who had been cleaning fled as soon as they saw Galina rise, so she smacked right into some sharp-edged stones that had come up with the Strigoi mauling. Before she could move, I pinned her there hard. Dimitri spoke something grim in Russian, and Galina squeaked. I caught the word 'heart', but that was it.

"Let me have her," he spoke through clenched teeth. I backed away and he had her neck in his grasp within seconds.

I realized then I didn't know how Strigoi killed other Strigoi. Ripping to shreds clearly worked, but what about one-on-one? They didn't breathe, so strangling didn't work. Based on his words, I think it had something to do with the heart.

He spoke something in Russian with a sadistic smile on his face. I caught the words 'end', 'you', 'good night', and Galina. My assumed translation is, "This is the end for you, Galina. Good night."

He let her go, punched through her body before she could fall, and drew his arm back through. It happened so fast, if not for my Strigoi eyes all I would have seen is Galina falling to the ground with her heart in Dimitri's hand. He laughed loudly and with a coldness so intense I froze in place and shivered. It chilled me to my bones. I was afraid of Dimitri. So very, very afraid…

When he began making his way towards me, my heart began to drum against my ribcage, filled with the same terror I was. With the hand that didn't grip Galina's heart, he stroked my cheek ever so lightly. "Ah, Roza…I'm so sorry I didn't give you the pleasure of destroying her. But this was personal, you see…"

How could a voice be so soft and warm yet so hard and cold at the same time? I was terrified of him right now, but when his lips found mine I couldn't resist.

I wound the hand that held the ring through his hair to soften him up a bit, and it did the trick. The kiss was warm enough to melt the dark glacier that had been Dimitri.

We had been there for God-knows-how-long, but it must have been a while because the humans from before came back to clean up. I didn't see them, only hear them. Humans walked heavier and less gracefully than Strigoi. The difference was large enough so that even as a fledgling Strigoi I could already tell.

I could smell their fear. They wanted to say something but didn't. I don't know if it was because of the fact that we were Strigoi, the new leaders of the building, or if it was Galina's heart in Dimitri's hand. Dimitri hadn't appeared to notice them as I had, he was still kissing me. At least, until he noticed I had stopped kissing back.

"Ignore them, Roza," he whispered to me so lowly that they couldn't hear.

They noticed that we had stopped kissing and attacked us, assuming they had been noticed. A group of three humans, attacking two previously dhampir Strigoi. Not a good idea on their part. I was wondering why they were doing it until I saw Inna at the head. She was pissed about us ordering Nathan to die.

Inna took me, and the other two took Dimitri. She had figured out I had made the final call. For a human, she was pretty tough. She managed to deflect two of my hits and made one nice punch to my arm. But it didn't do much for her. I took her arm to pin it to the ground and accidentally ripped it off when she moved. Oops.

Dimitri had already finished with his. One was on the ground…in pieces…the other was in happy land from the bite Dimitri had given her. As Inna fell to the ground, he picked her up and drained her of all the blood in her body.

When he was finished, he let her drop to the ground and turned to me. "Ah, I hadn't eaten all night. I was too busy watching over you." He spoke with an air of casualness that made me slightly sick and nodded to the endorphin-addled human girl. "That one was for you. I suggest you take it…she's rather tasty."

I wanted to puke right now. But one thing was certain, I had to feed. Eventually.

So I decided to make it easier on myself. I took off the ring and handed it to Dimitri. "Hold this while I feed…I don't want to have something as special as this touch unworthy human flesh."

Sucks how I have to take it back though. That ring turns me into a freaking pansy. But whatever, I'll figured something out.

He took the ring and nodded. "Right. Glad to see you treasure it so much." My Dimitri smiled. How could I _not _find those fangs sexy? He looked way better with them.

Why do I keep calling him Dimitri, anyways? He's going to be my husband…he needs something sweeter. But not too sweet, like honey or sweetie. Saying those would taste as good as puking.

"Why are you hesitating, Roza?" His eyes bore deep into me. Those eyes…ah, those dark pools of beauty, accented with a gorgeous red ring…I could stare into them forever.

"I realized I don't have a name for you like you do me. I'm Roza…but what should I call you?"

A small laugh escaped his lips. "Certainly not 'comrade'. Dimka will do." The laugh was warm and it made me nauseated. Stupid ring.

I growled. "No. That's what Tasha called you. How about Dima?"

He smiled warmly. "Or _Lyubov_. It means 'love'."

"Well _Lyubov_…I'm going to have dinner." I gave him a quick peck on the lips and went to the human.

She was small and weak. Prey. And I was the predator. Blood was spilling out of her neck, and it smelled oh-so-sweet. It was enough to make me forget about that stupid giggle she made when I came close to her neck.

I held her down firmly with my hands, opened my mouth, and…


	5. Euphoria

This was pure euphoria.

I don't know how Dima had been able to stop when he had been drinking from me, because this was heaven on earth. I guess since Strigoi never made it to Heaven, we were blessed with a wonderful feeling every time we fed.

I couldn't stop. I would never stop. Not until every last drop of blood had been taken out of the pathetic human's body. It felt so good, tasted so good…better than any food imaginable.

And what gave me even more pleasure was knowing I was taking her _life _away. I was killing her. Her soul was leaving her body and went into mine. Of course Strigoi had souls…we strengthened them on the souls of others.

I felt and heard her heart begin to slow down as life was taken from her. The excitement and wonderful feeling was increasing. Yes, almost like sex. It became better and better until an explosion of pleasure at the end…

I didn't just feel her death, I felt my life increasing in an explosion of…of something beyond euphoria. It was better than Dimka's bites, orgasms, drug highs…better than anything in the world.

Man, why did it have to end?

I rose slowly from the body, blood dripping from my mouth. I licked it up quickly and turned to face my love.

"You were right, she _was _delicious." I gave an evil grin and drew close to him.

He had a weird expression on his face, as if he were confused. "What's wrong, Dima? Did I not kill her right or something?"

He shook his head. "No, no…I'm just…I feel weird…" I wasn't used to my teacher, the one who knew all the answers, being so confused.

"It's that damned ring you're holding. Infused with the power of spirit. Turns you into prey."

He raised an eyebrow. "Spirit? Life…That would make sense. Did Lissa charm it?"

Bah, Lissa. I had forgotten her and was glad to have. "No. Guy I met in Baia called Mark. Shadow-kissed like I was. But not anymore, thanks to you, _lyubov_."

"You went to Baia? Why?" He seemed honestly surprised.

"I was looking for you, dumbass. I met your family and everything."

He touched me with the ring. Oh, he finally touched me with the ring. I was back to myself…back to being the real Rose.

Although I was still going to call him Dima.

"Roza…" He stroked through my hair and idly looked up at the sky. "Let's go back to the room. The sun is about to rise."

We walked hand in hand, sharing the spirit powers of the ring. It was back on my left hand now, and Dima promised it would stay that way unless I had Strigoi business to do. And he would immediately give it back upon my finishing.

Back in the suite, we were cuddled up next to each other.

"I missed my soul…," Dima mused.

"Yeah, I did too."

There was a bout of silence until he spoke again.

"So you went to my hometown looking for me…how was it?"

"It was nice. They were good people. I hung out with Viktoria a lot."

"Ah, how is she?"

"Uh, good." I was beginning to remember the night with her an Rolan and quickly pushed it away. "Karolina's good too. She reminds me a lot of you. She really beat the crap out of some dhampir guys who were causing trouble." Talking about his family was nice. He seemed to light up like a Christmas tree.

"I can see Karolina doing that. Did she have her baby yet?"

"Yeah, it was a girl. Zoya."

"Zoya…not a bad name." He continued smiling, then turned grim suddenly.

"What, something wrong Dima?"

"My family…I take it you told them…I was dead?"

"No, I…I told them the truth." I gulped down horrible feelings. "You know, they really liked me. And approved of…us. Even Yeva."

He gave a weary smile. "So you told them?"

"No…they figured it out." He surprised me with a loud laugh.

"Of course Roza…it's written all over you." He moved his body closed to me and whispered in my ear. "It's always been written all over you."

Our mouths met softly. Bodies made of ice, kiss made of fire. Spirit made our experience come to life, and it led to…other things.

"Your dress is in shreds, Roza…" He cocked an eyebrow and smiled in a way that got my cold body hot and excited.

"Well then, it'd be better off, wouldn't it? Like that _duster!_" He had slowly been making his way on top of me, but I pushed him back and took off the cowboy coat with ease. Dima was clearly enjoying this. "And your shirt…" He took control of my hands. "No. Let me."

He ripped it off and threw it to the side. Seriously. Started from the middle and just…ripped it off. That had been incredibly sexy. I found myself paralyzed as he did the same to my dress.

I was dressed in very sexy lingerie. I don't remember wearing very sexy lingerie. I wore sports bras and boyshorts, not lacy silk bras and thongs. He began to chuckle when my face expressed this. "Damn you." This just made him laugh harder. "Damn you!"

He was still laughing as I undid his high-quality pants and pulled them off. He kicked off his shoes to make it easier for me, and now the only thing separating the massive Russian _khuy _from the world was a pair of black briefs.

And yes, I know all of the sexy Russian words. I was about to give him a _minet _as a matter of fact.

"I'm getting impatient here, Roza, and _he _is, too." He was still snickering until I lightly bit his briefs. "_Chert_! What are you doing down there?"

I gave the bulge a kiss. "There, I gave it a kiss. All better?"

"_Net_." He straightened himself up to pull my hair into a ponytail.

I decided to quit teasing him and pulled off his underwear. It stood erect, and now that I was out of my dreamy haze from before I noticed it was bigger than it had been in the cabin. "Geez, did you get bigger?"

Once again, he laughed. It was starting to piss me off. "_Da. _Another Strigoi perk. You've gotten much…curvier, don't worry."

"You were already goddamn huge to start with! Now I don't know how I'm going to fit this thing in my mouth…or my _pizda_, for that matter." I pouted, and his _khuy _twitched towards my mouth.

"All the better to pleasure you with, Roza." My hair was fully up in a ponytail now, although he still found a way to wind his hand through the tail as he did when it was down. "And might I say, you sound very sexy when you speak dirty Russian to me."

I looked him right in the eye. "_Poshel na hui._"

"Please do."

((Don't worry, this is going to be continued next chapter. If you don't understand the Russian, use Google Translate. It's what I'm doing right now. I'm really not sure how far I can go with the sex…anyone care to message me and help me out here? I want to get as detailed as possible without getting kicked off the site. It's my first time, y'know? (That's what she said.) ))


	6. Lust

"_Vy, kak moi khuy, ne tak li_?" Dima said in a tone that was like velvet to my ears.

I came up to breathe and looked at him. After a few gasps I managed to get out, "What?"

"You wanted to learn Russian, didn't you…?" His fingers ran slowly across the parts of my body he could reach. "Well…first lesson. '_Vy, kak moi khuy, ne tak li_?' means "You like my cock, don't you?' I believe knowing that will be very useful in our relationship…"

The pleasure had caused him to become a very alluring creature of the night…and bed.

"You've been doing very well - I was surprised you took me more than halfway - but that's enough. It's your turn now."

"Alright…" Soft hands removed my ponytail and gently ushered me to lie down where he had been before. I followed their commands and we switched positions, he now piercing me with hungry eyes.

Man that tongue was amazing. He knew how to hit every good area - and not just the ones between my legs. Every inch of me was touched gently with finger or tongue, all to tease me. I was aching for release that he refused to give me.

In one quick, fluid motion, I was in his arms and held against the wall. "New position, _lyubov_?"

One hand moved from underneath me to my hair. Dima moved his face as close as he could, hot and heavy breath in synch with mine. "I thought you'd like it." He closed his eyes and went in for a kiss, and that wasn't the only part of him that went into me.

Sweet, passionate love. Within minutes we were calling each other's names out, and released together. It was wonderful. Although not as pleasurable as feeding or being fed from, it was an experience that filled my soul with joy. Dimitri was mine, I was his, and we were together. At long last.

He undid the covers and slid me into bed, then slipped under the covers with me. We kissed and cuddled for a long while.

"This won't last forever, you know…" I had no idea where that came from. It just slipped out of my mouth. I regretted it immediately.

"What won't? I plan on staying with you forever." Dima turned saddened.

"No, our souls. The charm runs out of magic, eventually."

He smiled. "I'll find a way to fix that. Don't worry, Roza." He began to sit up. "Speaking of that, I remembered something you might find intriguing. We have a library up here that has a section about the myths of Strigoi." I shot bolt upright. "What, really? Can we go now?"

Dima smiled. "Of course. Strigoi don't sleep."

I began to kiss him again. "I love you. I love you so very much. I wish there was a way I could express it more."

"_Ya lyublyu tebya_." He smirked and held back a laugh.

"I said more, not in Russian." My face showed obvious annoyance.

"Lesson number two. '_Ya lyu_-'" I interrupted him.

"Yeah, I know. 'I love you.'"

"And I love you too."

I pushed him off and began to search for clothes. "You've become a real smartass, y'know."

"Looks like I've gone up the food chain. I am dumbass no more. By the way, closet."

He got out of bed as well, and I couldn't help but admire him. Pale as a ghost, fanged like a beast, eyes red like the more common vampire tales humans enjoyed…and still a god.

He smirked and arched an eyebrow. "See something you like?"

"I see a whole lot of things I like."

He wasn't under the ring's power, but was noticeably more lifelike and warm. "Hey, you know you're supposed to be a cold bastard now, right? No ring." We made our way to the closet.

Dima shrugged. "Am I supposed to immediately lose my soul? Every time I touch the ring, I feel a lingering effect. Apparently you don't. I saw how you tore into her neck. It made me slightly sick." He shivered and went through the clothing.

"What should make you sicker is you've been doing that for about a month now. I feel nothing but dark and evil without that ring." I noticed a bagged dress. "Hey, what's this?" I went to try and open it, but he stopped me.

"Don't open that! That's a very special dress for you. It's a surprise." He picked out an outfit to wear and began to put it on. "You know I hate surprises. What is it, my wedding dress?" Couldn't be anything else.

"Yes, Roza." He made an annoyed sigh. "What was that ring originally for, anyways?"

I couldn't find a dress I liked. They were all so fancy and would be hard to kick ass in. "For healing the darkness that comes from being shadow-kissed." I stomped my foot. "Agh! Don't you have something _I _could wear?"

He nodded understandingly. "That makes sense. And there's plenty for you to wear, don't you see the dresses?" Dima made the last remark casually, no smirk on his face. "Anyways, your immediate turn may be because the darkness still hasn't left you completely. It explains how you could defeat Galina…I had never seen that cruel of an expression on any other of us."

"Damnit, you know what I mean. I can't fight in these dresses." I sighed.

He pulled out a black strapless dress made of some expensive material. It glittered as if there were stars across it. There were long slits across the sides. "Soft, sexy, and mobile. Now stop complaining." Dima threw it at me. He was now completely dressed in something that reminded me of a guardian outfit.

Eh, I couldn't complain. I managed to find a sports bra and non-sexy underwear and began to put my ensemble on. "Hey Dima, you look like a guardian."

"Hence why I picked this outfit." He picked up the remains of our lovemaking and set some in the laundry basket. The two halves of the black shirt went in the trash.

"That was a really sexy move." I went to put his hand in mine, but he stopped me.

"No, other hand. I need to be a Strigoi now." He took on a cold expression and our hands entwined around each other. "It wasn't nearly as sexy as how you look right now."

We walked into the hallway. I had taken on a cold expression as well, which was good, because two Strigoi came up to meet us for some reason. One was the one who had 'remembered my name'. I think now his reputation was going back up, as I was clearly no ordinary dhampir/Strigoi.

The one who didn't know me looked at me and began to speak Russian. That pissed me off.

"English please." Although I said it with a sarcastic tone, it was too polite. "Or I tear your throat out." That was better.

My lover looked down at me, but somehow I felt as if he were telling me I had said the right thing.

The one who knew my name translated what I had said to the other. He gulped and ran away. "Rosemarie Hathaway, you now live in the penthouse suite. All assets of Galina's have been transferred to you."

"It's 'Belikov'," Dimitri corrected. "Rosemarie Belikov. Get used to it." He was practically snarling.

"If Rosemarie wants to say something, she can say it. She is, after all, _our leader_. You're not. You're her fucking bodyguard." The guy was against the wall in a second.

"Say that again, I dare you."

"Or what? It's her call what you do to me." He showed no fear. Apparently he had something against Dimitri. Or it was just a Strigoi thing. Probably the latter.

I had to intervene. "He made me who I am. I wouldn't have been able to finish Galina without him."

Dima smirked. He had won.

"So he shares the title and assets with me. And he can kick your ass if he wants."

Dima placed his hand against the Strigoi's heart. "Have you heard about what happened to Galina?"

Now he was afraid. "Yes." But his voice showed none of that.

I placed my hand on my lover's shoulder. "But I don't think you should, Dima. We're going to have to explain this a lot, and we have much more important things to do than explain the shared leadership over and over again."

He thought this over and drew back. "Good idea. You are messenger. Spread our word to every one of us you can. And if I hear you told them otherwise, I'm going to do much worse to you than merely rip your heart out. Got it?"

He nodded furiously and strode off. We waited until he had gone downstairs to say anything.

"Hey look, he's being messenger for me again." I laughed lightly.

Dimitri just glared daggers through me. "You're getting rid of that ring as soon as I can get another one."

I blinked at him. "What? Why?"

"It makes you weak. I had to take care of that petulant creature to make sure he understood that we meant business."

My attitude started to work up. "I thought I did a pretty damn good job."

He took me by the shoulders and looked straight into my eyes. "You didn't."

I touched his cheek with the ring before he could move away. He blinked and let me go.

"_Chert!_"


	7. Readings

Dimitri began to pace about the hallway, swearing over and over again. "What are we going to do? I forgot that I wouldn't want the ring on you as a Strigoi…" He sighed.

"I keep touching the ring to you?" I had forgotten the same thing. But what could I do now? My Strigoi self had told him, not me.

"Then the magic runs out sooner and you lose your soul…" He embraced me, and I took it happily. "I don't want you to lose your soul, Roza…"

We were like that for a while. I didn't know what to say, and he didn't want to say anything. Then he tensed.

"Let's get you to the library." He said it very firmly and began to move away. "Follow me."

I rushed a bit to catch up, and then we walked side by side, hand in hand. Though it was my right hand that touched his left. "Dima, you seem…off. What's going through your head?" He ignored me.

We tried to ascend the stairs together, but it was much too small. He whisked me up in his arms, and I felt helpless and weak. "I don't like being like this. It reminds me of when-"

"Don't remind me, Roza. I don't want to think about it." He stiffened more. Like a scene out of a cheesy vampire movie I had seen on TV, he began to dash up the stairs. In a matter of seconds, we were at the top and he was letting me down. "If you had said, 'Hold on, spider monkey,' I would've puked."

He arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Stupid vampire movie. Vampire guy takes human girl through the forest as fast as you did me up the stairs. Before he starts running, he says that."

"Sounds very romantic, actually." He was still eyeing me quizzically.

"It would be if she had any personality, hadn't been called 'spider monkey', and he didn't sparkle."

The last bit threw him off. "Wait, 'he' is the vampire, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he _sparkles?_" Dima had a twisted expression, disgusted and confused.

"Yes."

"If Strigoi could vomit, I would have. Now let's get to the library before you tell me about other horrible things." He pulled me along quickly until we reached the library.

It was a very large library, plush and full of tons of books and seating areas. It was also in sections, I noticed. Strigoi, Dhampir, Moroi, Human, and Misc. Fiction. Fiction took up a big part, with one row being an entire subcategory. There was even a Westerns section.

"Later on, I'm probably going to expand the Westerns section of the library." Dimitri's words were obviously meant in humor, but he said it very coldly. "But for right now, I'm going to leave you. I have business to attend to."

Dima moved and I stopped him. "Wait, what kind of business?"

He stared into my eyes, and they looked saddened. Like he didn't want to leave. "Roza…" A tear formed at his eye, but he quickly wiped it away. "Please trust me. Let me go this time."

Those eyes. I couldn't say no to him or those eyes. Slowly, my hand dropped to my side. "Okay." Wait, was I going to leave it at just that? "But on one condition."

The sadness dissipated. "And what is that?"

I smiled. "Trust me. You'll find out later."

He grumbled. "Alright. Have fun." And my love took off to do God-knows-what.

So I walked over to the Strigoi section. It was divided into subsections: Abilities, Notable Strigoi, Myths. Myths was exactly what I wanted.

I took a few books out and found myself thinking about Lissa. I had abandoned her, turned into the thing I had worked my entire life to protect her from…I was a horrible friend.

But for once, I had to focus on myself. I was up here to find out if there was any way to go back to the living, or at the very least keep this sanity I held right now because of the ring. I assumed the Moroi section wouldn't have much more than the Moroi libraries would, so this would be the most helpful. There was almost nothing authored by a Strigoi in any of the libraries…for obvious reasons.

I passed Notable Strigoi as I made my way to a very plush couch and began looking at the titles to find anyone interesting. There were a few royal names I recognized on book titles, but one famous name stuck out the most. ' 'St.' Vladimir'.

"He had been a Strigoi?" I exclaimed out loud to nobody in particular. I dropped the books that I had, ripped that one out of the shelf, and raced to the couch.

One perk of being Strigoi was the fact that I could concentrate really hard on one thing and do it much better, which meant I could process this book faster. I had a tremendous interest in this book, and it wasn't until I felt something very pleasurable that I stopped reading.

Over 1,000 pages later, but what felt like seconds, I put the book down to find out what the hell was disturbing me from reading this thing. I found myself naked with Dimitri's _khuy _deep inside me. He was also holding me in his arms, against the wall all the way across the room from where the couch was.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" I shrieked.

"Finally your eyes are off of that damned book! Do you know how long I've been at this?"

I blinked. I had no idea. "Uh…I dunno."

"Fifteen minutes. And I don't mean just the overall effort of trying to bring you back to Earth. I mean," He thrust in me. "_This_. I don't even remember how long I was calling your name." He put me down and began to put his clothes back on. There was a bout of silence.

"Sorry…I was reading about St. Vlad. Apparently he was a Strigoi."

He sighed. "Yes, I saw." Dima was being a conversation killer. "You're very lucky I accidentally brushed the ring while I was trying to manually take your hands away from the book. I'm pretty sure my other side would have thrown you into a wall instead of making sweet love to you. Did you learn anything?" Okay, I stand corrected.

I moved to put my dress back on, but he did the honors for me, as he was done dressing now. As he pulled the bra over my head and down my body, I answered him. "Yeah. Apparently he turned Strigoi well before he died according to the Moroi history books. Probably for the same reason as Ms. Karp - to escape the insanity of spirit."

"Then how would he stay as a saint to the Moroi?" My underwear were being slid up.

"Apparently he had the ability to turn from Strigoi to Moroi at will. And by will, I mean he would kill during feeding to turn into a Strigoi…but right before he did, he would use his spirit energy to charm a stake. Anna would use it to turn him back to Moroi." I sighed. "But I don't even know why I care about this. It's not as if we could get a spirit user anyways."

He slid the dress over me and took a few steps back.

Dimitri bit his lip lightly, but because of the fang he pierced skin. "_Chert_!"

I raised an eyebrow. Something was up. He didn't bite his lips…ever. "Dima, what's wrong?"

He groaned. "Roza…"

I glared him down. "What?" If he was feeling guilty, this was going to be something bad.

"I have ordered Vasilisa Dragomir to be delivered to us."


	8. Betrayal

((The updates are going to hit a brick wall now that school is going to be back in session for me tomorrow. I'm going to do the best I can to update, but until soccer season is over I'm at school until at least 4, usually 5. And with home games I don't get back until 7. Away games are even worse, sometimes I don't even get back until the next morning. Not to mention I'll have homework to do. So yeah.))

"You. Did. _WHAT?_" I stood there, dumbstruck. "You took her out of safety, out of her home, into the world of monsters that she has learned to hate all her life…_WHAT THE FUCK WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD?_"

"Roza, wait-" I kicked him hard between the legs before he could finish.

"And you had the nerve to _touch _me after that? Doing the worst possible thing to my best friend, who I had been connected to like another _body part_…"

"Roza, ple-" He was crying out to me. I ignored him by landing a punch to his chest.

"And then you fuck me like nothing happened."

I kicked him in the face and he lie on the floor, trying to recover. I put my foot over his chest and crushed down hard. Curse me for not wearing those heels. They would've been very handy right now.

That's why he had acted so guilty. He knew he was going to do this before I left. I had trusted him. He had betrayed that trust.

"I trusted you," I repeated. My body moved close to his so that we were within breathing distance. "And you betrayed that trust." I spat in his face. "You betrayed me."

In a fit of pure rage, I threw the ring at him and stood over his body.

"No, Roza! The ri-"

Tired of his constant interruptions and pleas, I threw him against the window. Unfortunately, the windows were tough. He bounced right off and I heard something crack as he hit the floor.

But I had forgotten he was Strigoi, creatures of the night who healed quickly. He picked up the ring and pressed it against my cheek.

I punched him in the face.

He stumbled, clearly surprised by this. My rage transcended the powers of the ring.

Dimitri recovered quickly and pressed his mouth against mine for a kiss. I knocked him back, but this time he'd been expecting it and threw me against the wall. I heard something crack, but pain was muffled by anger…and fear.

He strode like a dark lord towards me, and fear consumed me. It held me in place, but I made my face appear fearless and full of hatred.

"You will not listen to reason, to calm words. You will not listen to your heart." He picked my chin up and made me look into his cold, dark brown eyes. "So I must make you listen to pain."

He punched me in the gut. "In the hours before you were awakened, I learned that Christian Ozera became Strigoi." I received a hard punch to the face. "Not only that, but he had taken Vasilisa off-campus against her will. Somehow, she managed to get away from him."

He put a foot on my body, crushing it as I had done to him before. "There were Strigoi ordered to hunt her down and kill her, Roza. From our ranks. Instead of death or awakening, I changed the orders to delivering her to us." He returned to soft, kind Dimitri and knelt to cup my face in his hands. "Do you understand now, my love?" He slid the ring back on my hand. "My wife?"

Silence enveloped the two of us. All I could hear was our breathing…

"I'm not your wife yet." I batted him away. "Why couldn't you have just sent her back to St. Vlad's?"

He groaned, releasing his hands from my face. "Yes, because clearly I want to send useful tracker Strigoi carrying a valuable commodity to a highly-guarded area where they will almost certainly be killed. And didn't you mention something being wrong with Lissa since you had left?"

I gasped. I had completely forgotten about her alcohol abuse. He was absolutely right and yet…

I avoided admitting he was right. "But how do you know they won't slip up and awaken or kill her? The alcohol abuse could've been fixed. And when did I tell you something was wrong with Lissa?"

He gave a dark and scary grin. "Oh they won't. Trust me." The grin turned to a grimace. "Once after a bite. You didn't remember…" He still didn't like the fact that he had, in essence, turned me into a blood whore. I didn't either. Anger began to flow into my veins again, but a quick comment stopped him.

"Anyways, all of our things have been moved to the penthouse. You want to go see it?" He had released me and now towered over me, outstretching a hand for me to grab.

I tossed him the book and hopped up. With Strigoi speed, I picked him up and raced up the stairs with him in my arms. When we had reached the top, I dropped him hard on the floor of the hallway.

"That's for calling Lissa a 'valuable commodity'."

He had patiently waited through being carried like a child, but after being dropped on the floor, evil Dimitri broke through again. He threw me against the wall and kept me there with his body.

"You think that you are the alpha here. And you are. The alpha _female_. I am the alpha _male_. You remember which of the two is more dominant, don't you?" His voice was scary, like an icicle snake crawling up my back.

"The male," I begrudgingly admitted.

"Correct…" His hand slid through my hair, and our mouths met.

Although I kissed back, I pushed him onto the next wall and pinned him there, continuing the kissing. I broke off for a second to say, "But when the male is in a weak position compared to the female, he is prey and she is predator." I continued the kiss before he could say anything. He attempted to break away several times, but I stopped him.

Someone came up the stairs while we were making out. A Strigoi. He began speaking Russian, which kindled my anger. We broke off again. "Dima, could you please tell him about our new policy of Russian speaking in front of me?" He turned to the Strigoi and did so. He became enraged and said some choice words in Russian. I knew they were choice, because Dimitri had used them on occasion.

"Hey Dima, I have an idea." My smile became evil and sexy at the same time. "First one to kill him is alpha for the day."

"You're on, Roza."


	9. Schadenfreude

Being on top, I managed to get to the disobedient Strigoi first. I threw him against the wall hard…a bit too hard. It had been where Dimitri and I had kissed before, and because of that the wall was weakened.. The Strigoi screamed, and as he fell, we noticed the wall was weak enough to go with him.

But before it did, Dimitri swore in Russian and took off for the entrance to the penthouse. I followed quickly, and as the keypad beeped in approval from Dimitri's code, he thrust the door open and ushered me inside. The door slammed shut behind us.

We were aware of our breathing and that was the only sound that filled the expansive suite we had been given.

Oh God was it luxurious. It made Dimitri's place look like a shack. Diamond chandeliers, gold-engraved wood, a carpet you could sleep on, couches with intricate, hand-woven designs…and hell, a home theater.

And this was only the living room.

Still breathing hard, I turned to Dimitri, eyes sparkling. "This…this is all ours?"

He gave a heart-stopping smile and made our bodies move closer with a hand winding through my hair. "Of course, Roza. Of course…"

My lover picked me up and walked me through the room. "Hey, I defeated him. I'm alpha," I quipped.

He smirked and threw me against the ground roughly and kept me there with his godly body. "True alphas don't play fair." My mouth opened to complain more, but was met with his mouth instead. I didn't resist. I kissed back, tongue finding its way over his fang…and this time, it turned me on.

His body ground against mine, enticing the hungry animal inside of me. I broke away to cry out in pure feral lust. I wanted him. I needed him.

"You're mine, Roza. All mine."

I was slung over his shoulder like some helpless creature, and the next thing I knew I was bouncing up from the impact on a very plush bed. My arms were folded above my head, and I felt cold metal clamping around my wrists. Handcuffs.

My ankles were in his cold grasp, held wide for the world to see. "You are my prey."

He pounced, mouth meeting the most sensitive area of my body. He ripped the soft fabric that covered my sex off with his fangs and stared daggers through my eyes. "And I am going to eat you alive."

And boy, did he eat me. And tease me. Quick hand movements here, light slaps there, a flick of the tongue…

He was in my face now. I felt his hand lightly moving against my body. By this time, I was ready to say yes to anything he asked just to feel orgasm. I was shaking. I couldn't think about anything except Dimitri and his…oh GOD, the most wonderful part of his body.

"Do you want me, Roza?"

I was transfixed by his eyes, dark with a gorgeous red halo around them. I hesitated. "Yes. Forever and always."

He pinched my nipple underneath the dress. I groaned.

"How badly do you want me?" His fingers played around my upper thigh.

"So very, very badly…"

"Then take that filthy piece of clothing off."

I looked down at myself. I was still in the dress and boots.

"I…I can't." I yelped as he grabbed my breast roughly.

"Then I will." He ripped the dress into two and threw the pieces to the side. My boots were ripped off my feet. Now, I was no more than a mindless animal in heat.

He straddled my naked form with his godlike one. The duster was thrown to the side, the shirt pulled off in one fluid motion, boots and socks went flying…but the rest stayed. He moved his lower body towards my mouth.

"I left the rest for you. Take it off."

I put the bulge in my mouth and teased it with my tongue, earning a low growl from my lover. My fangs clamped the zipper and pulled, and once that was done he did the rest. Now all that was left was dark red briefs that fit him very snugly.

I ripped it off with my teeth, and freed the part of him I so very desired…

We had extremely rough sex for about an hour, and every second of it I was in some sort of bondage. He forced me to do everything he commanded, and if I so refused, he would hurt me in some way.

I liked it because it was Dimitri doing it. I didn't like it because I was put in extreme pain, and wasn't on top. He would pay.

When I was finally released from my bondage, we put our clothes back on and snuggled on the couch. My bruises and wounds were already healed.

He flipped through the channels idly and turned to me, my head on his chest. "So Roza? What was that condition you mentioned?"

Oh! I had almost forgotten.

"Flip to HBO." I began to sit up, but he pushed me back.

"That's the condition?" He eyed me suspiciously.

"No, you idiot. You'll see."

He did as I commanded (finally), and there was an advertisement on for the show I had been looking for.

"Listen to the way that guy talks. There's one word that stands out the most." I was trying to hold back a laugh. Oh this was going to be good.

Just as I had expected, the character said the one word I wanted him to. "That word."

"…Why are you making me do this?" His face grew more and more incredulous every time I spoke.

"Okay, I want you to say 'Roza' like he just said that word. You got it?"

He pushed me lightly. "No. I'm not doing it."

"Do it."

"No."

"It's a condition."

"Pick another one."

I sighed with exasperation. "You agreed to the conditions. Just say 'Roza' like he said 'Sookie'. It's very easy."

He was silent for a moment, but finally caved. "Fine."

Dimitri moved us so that he was on top of me and I could view his entire face. He bared his fangs menacingly and breathed heavily upon me.

"Rozah!" The r was rolled more harshly than usual, and he made sure the 'ah' of my nickname was carried out longer than the rest.

There was a long bout of silence. "Hey there, Dimitri Compton."

I burst out laughing.

"Roza…sometimes…augh." He seemed very upset. I just laughed harder.

((Bleh, soccer game got me out of chores...I'll see you all again Saturday. Sorry this chapter sucks.))


	10. Recognition

After the True Blood fun, we had snuggled up on the couch and watched a vampire movie marathon for the rest of the day. Throughout the day, we heard a few screams and sizzling. Apparently some of our minions had found the hole in the wall. One had the nerve to call us and interrupt the moment.

Dimitri just barked something at him in Russian and slammed down the phone, breaking it.

When the sun began to set, we turned off 'Twilight' (it was our version of comedy hour), and watched the bright bane of our existence move below the horizon. It was beautiful.

I didn't miss it.

"Ah, Dima…" I moved my head into the crook of his neck.

His cold voice wrapped around me like snow, something so much better than the fiery velvet it had been before. "Dimka, _moi lyubof._"

And the moment shattered. "No." I moved away, but he held me there. Firmly.

"If you would like, I could have Tasha killed." His eyebrow arched, eyes serious but somehow loving.

I melded my body to him in a comfortable position. "Does that name really mean that much to you?"

He sighed, as was common for him. "Dimka is what my family calls me. You will be my family soon, _net_?"

I groaned, but was forced to surrender. His mother _had _called him Dimka…as had the rest of his family…"Alright, Dimka." I gave him a peck on the lips. "Way to ruin the moment."

_Dimka_ straightened up and positioned me to sit on his lap. "The sun has set…we have things to do."

I wanted this romantic moment to stretch on into eternity. But then again, we had eternity to make more of them. I wondered what was so important that we had to stop.

"Like what?" It came out sounding sarcastic, but I meant it seriously. He took it the first way.

"Like what? _Like what_?" His voice began to rise, and the grip on my body tightened uncomfortably. "Roza, there is business to attend to, food to eat, minions to order around, an empire to expand…I swear, even without that damned ring you still act like a stupid drugged dhampir."

The ring had finally worn off earlier in the library, we had figured out while on the couch. It had taken all of the shadow-kissed darkness I had obtained out of me, so now I was a more…normal…Strigoi. Not as violent or anything.

But man was I glad my 'soul' was gone. The darker Strigoi me was right, it turned me into a pussy.

"Relax, comrade. I meant it seriously." The old nickname slipped out. But hey, we _were _comrades now.

He did relax. "Ah. Act that way next time, then." Dimitri rose and held his hand out to me. "Shall we, my queen?"

I took his hand gladly. "We shall."

The door burst open. Some Strigoi blubbering Russian. They had _not _gotten the message. However, they were blubbering to Dimitri, so I guess that was an improvement.

I was growling at the act of being intruded on by a lowly peon, but _Dimka _gave me a look that told me to stop. I then heard "Vasilisa Dragomir", and understood why he had made me stop.

He was delivering Lissa.

Oh shit. I had completely forgotten about her.

Once the message had been received, Dimitri took a cruel tone of voice and the Strigoi scurried off.

A moment of silence passed between us. He sighed, and looked at me.

"The wall has been fixed, and Vasilisa Dragomir has arrived. And I told this piece of worthless awakening what would happen to him and anyone else if they dared speak Russian around you. Perhaps two will be able to deliver the message."

I merely nodded. It was all I could do.

"Right."

Silence.

"So where is she?" He obviously knew, I didn't.

"Foyer."

Dimitri's answers were curt. I don't know why, considering all he was doing was staring at the expensive wooden wall.

"Well, are we going to go see her, or are you just going to stare at the wall all day?" Anger was beginning to take the better of me.

"For one thing, it's night." He finally looked at me. "For another, I don't know. I want you the way you are." A soft hand picked my chin up and looked deep into my eyes. "I don't want you to be weak anymore."

I softly pulled his hand down. "I won't let her turn me into prey, Dimka. I'm stronger than you think."We just gazed into each others' eyes. "As you wish," he finally spoke.

As we entered the hallway, the staircase dilemma hit us again. "We need an elevator," I muttered.

Dimitri stopped to arch an eyebrow at me. "I agree. Remind me of that later at the meeting."

"Meeting?" We were now over the staircase.

"Yes. Meeting. We'll be having one in a few nights."

Okay, being left out of the loop was really pissing me off now. "And why didn't I know about this before?"

He sighed, exasperated. "Because I just found out now, _lyubov_. Now let me carry you down the stairs."

"Why should I? Can't I just walk behind you?" I wanted a reason to be angry with him.

"I think earlier I proved that I'm the alpha. In my arms. Now."

I crossed my arms. "No. I refuse. It makes me weak."

I heard a growl and was whisked into his arms. I tried to struggle free, but he was too strong. He kept a tight grip on me as we descended the stairwell.

He let me down softly on the ground floor and moved his mouth close to my ear. "Fight me here and what we have will be shattered." His voice was barely audible, but I understood very clearly. If we argued or physically fought, the others would see a chance to attack us.

So I just shut my mouth, took his hand, and walked to the area where I had fought Galina before. It had been cleaned up, and there were more decorations about now that the area wasn't being used for fighting.

But as my eyes glossed over the center of the former ring, I felt my undead heart stop.

There in a cage was my former, no, still best friend.

There in a cage was my soul…my weakness.

I stood petrified, even though Dimitri was squeezing my hand and urging me on.

I couldn't move. I didn't move.

There was a long moment of silence after her eyes found me.

She screamed.

((I think there'll be about 5 more chapters, then I end it. Opinions on this, and hell, this chapter? READ AND REVIEW!))


	11. Decision 2

Well I'm not Paralyzed, but I seem to be struck by you. I wanna make you move, BECAUSE YOU'RE STANDING STILL OH MY GOD ROSE DO SOMETHING ALREADY.

As Dimitri had pounded into my head so very often, Don't Hesitate. It was why I was here in the first place.

And right now, there were quite a few Strigoi waiting for me to do something. Anything. Breathe, even. Dimitri touched my arm softly and glared into my eyes. He sent the same message everyone was.

But I didn't know what to do.

There stood my best friend…forever. There stood what had kept me from my lover, my soul mate for so long. In that cage contained the source of most if not all of my mortal suffering, but in that cage contained what I had spent my mortal life trying to save.

I was torn between hatred and relief - Vasilisa Dragomir was delivered alive and well, just as ordered. Was that good? Was that bad? I didn't know. I. Didn't. Know.

But I had to say something. Anything.

I chose to take the cold Strigoi she and all the rest would be expecting. "Vasilisa Dragomir…," I began.

She was paralyzed as I had been, but not with confusion. With fear. She, following my lead, decided to turn angry at me.

"Rose! You…you…I don't even know what to say to you! You-AAARGH!" She was interrupted by a Strigoi shocking her through the cage controls. Her scream pierced the heavens.

"No," I ordered. "Let her fight back with words. It is the only way she _can _fight back."

The minion grumbled and went off to the side, clearly disappointed in not being able to shock her more.

It was odd. I felt no sympathy for her. In fact, I thought she was being an amusing brat. But mortal habits stayed with you into the undead. I still wanted to protect her. It was almost like a reflex. Could I train myself out of it?

Back to the real matter at hand though. She had been sent here on a decision we made while weak. While mortal. She was my key to getting my soul back - and Dimitri's. But did we really _want _our souls back? The sides without a soul didn't, the side with a soul did. Both sides wanted their side to be the permanent one.

Of course, right now I saw nothing good in going back to weak, dhampir Rose, and I found my fanged Dimitri much sexier than the fangless one.

Still, I wasn't going to kill her. I couldn't. And I couldn't order anyone else to do it nearby me, or even out of sight, because I would stop them. I would order Dimitri to do it, but he would have to keep it a secret from me. I didn't want him to keep any secrets from me.

Something else I was forgetting though…was that there were not just two choices. It wasn't just turning us back or killing her. There was always a third option.

But Dimitri would have to be okay with it…

I didn't know which method to take with persuading him. Submissive or dominant. Perhaps I would just stay neutral until his opinion on the matter was clear.

Thankfully for me, everyone could see my long reflection on the matter. It wasn't as if Lissa scared me. I was carefully planning how I would kill her…so they thought.

I took Dimitri to the side and began to whisper in his ear.

"I propose that we awaken her. Opinions?"

He pushed me away and began to roar. "No! Absolutely…" His eyes trailed over Lissa as his speech trailed off.

"Hmm." Dimitri scratched his chin softly, then continued our conversation in a barely audible whisper. "It could, perhaps, work. Why do you want to do that?"Well, I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him it was because I just couldn't kill her. That would make me weak. But I couldn't come up with any other good reason.

If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.

"She would make a very valuable asset, don't you think? What with her Spirit abilities and all."

He furrowed his brow. "They'd be gone the instant she awakened."

Well that didn't work. "Um…" I couldn't come up with anything.

He gave me a dark smirk. "Are old habits hard for you to break, Roza?" Dimitri softly stroked my hair, caressed my cheek, and leaned in for the kiss.

I took it. It would make him much easier to persuade. It was relatively short, although I picked up one saying, "Oh, get a room…" He'd be dead later when I found out who he was.

Dimka couldn't help but smile. "Ah, Roza…I accept." My face lit up. "With two conditions." It dropped, along with his smile.

"She is weak. She will be our minion. You will treat her like one. She is not your friend anymore."

I felt like it should hit me harder than it did, but I didn't really feel anything. Awakening was the best route for her. And as long as I didn't have to kill her, I would be fine bossing her around. It would get out some of my resentment for her. I could order her instead of the other way around.

I didn't know why Dimitri wanted it this way until he clung tighter to me. "You are mine! No one will take my place in your heart!" His voice boomed off the walls. He stared straight into Lissa's eyes. "No one."

After a long stare, he turned back to me. "Condition number two." Oh shit. I had forgotten there were two.

There was a long pause.

"You will be the one to awaken her."

((Sorry about the short chapter. I knew I had to write something. I just felt it. But unfortunately my brain's too fried from all of the school I do to write something long and interesting. So here, have a crappy chapter. Read, Review, beg me to write more, I'm getting a Darth Vader lamp on Friday.))


	12. Novosibirsk

"No," I blurted out instantly. Protecting her was a reflex, and turning her into what she feared…oh God. I couldn't do it.

Dimitri's face showed no sympathy. "Then no deal."

He was an immovable wall, I could tell. There would be no bargaining for another condition. The show of dominance over me was the only love towards me he would show in front of others.

"Do I have to do it now?" I asked. Perhaps I could postpone it…make another Strigoi do it for me…

He shook his head. "No. But the sooner the better." Dimitri finally raised his voice. "Vasilisa Dragomir will be awakened by Roza Belikov. If you dare touch her before we do…" He gave a dark, fanged grin. A very sexy grin. "I will rip out your throat and set you on fire."

Well my idea was blown out of the water.

Lissa had to speak. "Awakened? Wha-what's that?" She moved as far away from Dimitri as she could in her cage.

He kept the grin and turned to her. "You have been blessed. You will be given a new life."

"WHAT?" She shrieked. "No! No! I refuse! I will not become a mon-"

"Shut up, stupid girl." His grin was gone. Dimitri was snarling. In a flash, he was at the cage. "Be glad that I'm not going to torture and kill you for everything you've done to my dear Roza. Instead, you were given an offer of a lifetime."

She whimpered. He turned back to me. "Roza? Anything you would like to say?"

I slowly walked to the cage and looked at my former best friend. She was in a sniveling heap. Then I turned to my lover.

"I'm hungry. Let's go."

He nodded. "Of course. Would you prefer to hunt, or have your food delivered?"

"Hmmm…" I mused. "What's the difference?"

He grinned. "Hunting is much more exciting, and we get to explore the city. Together." Soft fingers laced through mine. Dimitri regained a neutral face. "But it's your choice."

Obviously, Dimitri wanted to hunt. I decided to comply with what he wanted…it would be exciting to see a Russian city through his eyes. "Let's hunt, then." I faced Lissa. "Goodbye for now."

He took my hand and guided me to an elevator with high-tech security. With the push of a button, we descended (I could tell because the button said B1 for basement) a floor and after clearance entered a garage. It was similar to one that you would see at an airport. I noticed many expensive cars and wondered which we'd be using.

A Strigoi rushed up to us. "Ah, Dimitri! The Veyron has finally arrived." Dimitri's face lit up immediately, and continued to grow brighter when he was handed the keys.

"We're going off to hunt. Which tunnel to Novosibirsk is the clearest?"

He took out a clipboard and examined it for a few moments. "Seven. Lucky for you, it's also the straightest."

"Good. Thank you. That will be all." His tone was brisk, and he guided me towards a black car with red stripes and undertones. It wasn't like any other car I had seen before. He activated it from a distance, and I got in the passengers side without even thinking. Leather interior. Black with red, like the rest of the car. Expensive.

After Dimitri folded his frame into the driver's chair. I randomly noticed that although this was a sports car, it was high enough so that Dimitri's head had plenty of clearance. Also, the chairs were set back so that his long frame fit perfectly.

"What kind of car is this?" The car roared to life. Dimitri was still smiling.

"Bugatti Veyron. The fastest street-legal car on Earth." The car was on a moving platform that positioned itself in front of a medium-sized tunnel labeled '7-Novosibirsk', or at least I assumed that's what it said in Cyrillic letters.

And we were off. Damn. This thing was _fast_. We went from 0-200 in less than a minute

"It can outspeed a jet plane," he added. "Horrible gas mileage. But by the time we run out, we'll be there."

"Wow." I was speechless…for a few seconds. Then the light bulb came on. "Will I ever get a chance at driving this baby?"

"NO!" He growled, putting harsh eyes on me but for a second. "You will get your own, if you desire. But this one is mine."

"Well okay then." The car was silent. Dimitri apparently didn't want the radio on.

He put his hand out, a gesture of apology. I accepted. We held hands for the rest of the ride without speaking a word.

Finally, we stopped in a smaller garage filled with a variety of cars, expensive and not. We parked, exited the car, and Dimitri paid a man to fill the car up and clean it. There was some sort of threat. As we exited the garage, I noticed it was hooked up to a club titled something in Russian. I assumed that's where most of the tunnels led to - Strigoi-led clubs.

It was after walking for a while I realized this is where I first saw my lover as a Strigoi. This very area, in fact. I stopped for a moment.

"What is it, Roza? I'm getting hungry." He was PMSing tonight.

"Hey bitchy. This is where I first saw you as the new you. The _better _you." The not-as-pansy-ish him.

"And?" He didn't appear interested.

"I don't know."He pulled me along. "You are still very weak, Roza. So sentimental…You will change after the wedding, I hope."

I glared at him. "When is that, anyways?"

He smirked. "It is not for you to know yet. However, I can tell you where our honeymoon will be."

My ears perked up. "Oh? Where? Please don't say a private island outside Brazil."

We were walking down the sidewalk, people giving us odd looks because we spoke English. He guided me down a dark alley.

Once we were there, he laughed. "No, I don't own a private island. Yet. We will someday, you know."

I was growing impatient. "Yeah, yeah. Where are we going?"

"Anywhere you want to go, Roza. It's up to you. But decide later, we must feast now. Stay here."

He walked out to the sidewalk and used his mastery of Russian to persuade a young blonde girl to come with him into the alley. She resembled Lissa somewhat, only the eyes were a darker shade of green.

"For you, dear Roza. Use it as practice."

I was lurking in the darkness, and as she inquired as to what he had said and to whom, I was on her. My fangs pierced her skin, and I drained her of every drop of blood in her body.

Oh, it felt so good. It felt amazing. She dropped to the ground, lifeless. I kicked her. It wasn't Lissa, but I felt like it was. The thought of killing Lissa was much easier for me now.

Dimitri had finished with his breakfast, a young male. I almost felt a pang of jealousy for the euphoria he had felt while dying.

"Ah, a young couple snuffed out forever." He grinned and took me into his arms, winding his fingers through my hair. "What would you like to do next, my love?"

Just then, a cellphone rang. Dimitri's. He answered it in a heartbeat, and was cursing out who had called him. After a bit of angry conversation, he yelled, "WHAT?". A moment passed with hurried voices on the other end, then Dimitri threw his phone against the ground. It shattered like began to drag me out of the alley in a hurry. Before I asked what was going on, he explained all of it to me. "Christian has found and awakened Lissa."


End file.
